Meanwhile, North Korea continues to acquire raw materials from out-of- country entities needed for its WMD and ballistic missile programs, the report says. During this time frame, North Korea continued procurement of raw materials and components for its ballistic missile programs from various foreign sources, especially through firms in China, it adds. "We assess that North Korea is capable of producing and delivering via munitions a wide variety of chemical and biological agents," the report notes. During the first half of 2000, Pyongyang sought to procure technology worldwide that could have applications in its nuclear program, but it is not known if any procurement is directly linked to the nuclear weapons program. "We assess that North Korea has produced enough plutonium for at least one, and possibly two, nuclear weapons," it adds.

NORTH KOREA REPRESENTS A MISSILE THREAT

William S. Cohen March 1, 2000, The Times (London) HEADLINE: 'Rogue states cannot hope to blackmail America or her allies' //acs-ln

North Korea is building and selling ballistic missiles, it has assembled an arsenal of chemical, biological weapons and it tried to develop nuclear capabilities. It has developed the Taepo Dong 2 missile, which could reach American territory, and it could test it at any time.

By such linkage does one small 'rogue state' quickly become a global problem. By the time Asian and western leaders met yesterday in Singapore, the Korean dispute was already entangled with several others: China's concerns about US interference, especially in its row with Taiwan; US concerns about Weapons proliferation elsewhere, particularly nuclear-armed India and Pakistan (which a almost went to war over Kashmir last month) but also Iraq and Iran; and Russia's and China's worries that the US (and Japan) will deploy a new missile defence system that will in effect scrap the key 1972 antiballistic missile treaty.